COLORADO SPRINGS — High school senior, Maddox Mulholland, is trying to help Colorado Springs seniors brighten their smiles by providing free dental care.
As a senior at St. Mary's High School, Mulholland is required to do 100 hours of community service in order to graduate. He had already met that requirement with all of the community service he did last year, so now he's going above and beyond.
"When he gets the opportunity to do it, we're the type of family that we like to help people," says Mulholland's mother, Stacy.
Stacy says helping others has always come easily to her son.
"I like to see people happy with smiles on their faces. When you help people out, it makes their life easier and your life easier," says Maddox.
Mulholland wanted to find another way to help others.
His mother took him to her dentist's office, where she is a hygienist.
"I see a lot of patients in the dental office who are in nursing homes. and one thing I see when they're in my chair is it looks like the last time their teeth were cleaned was when I cleaned them," says Stacy.
That's what encouraged Maddox to start Salute for Senior Smiles. His mission has been to donate toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss to seniors in nursing homes.
"A lot of people need to learn how important it is to not only take care of seniors but to take care of veterans too. Because veterans do so much for our country," says Maddox.
Mulholland plans to start with a nursing home in Aurora.
His mother warns that not taking care of your teeth can lead to some serious health problems.
Stacy says, "If you have someone who has gingivitis or periodontal disease, it can put them at a greater risk for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, dementia. It can even increase their risk for a stroke."
Maddox plans to keep helping other Colorado seniors for as long as he can. He hopes that his actions will encourage other kids to help others.
Maddox says, "You know, I want to inspire other people to do community service and to help out. Because I feel like if we can get more people to do community service, the better off our country and state will be."
You can help out with Salute for Senior Smiles by purchasing something off of their Amazon wishlist.
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